Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Increases Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 324,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,488 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $53,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners announced it entered exclusivity to acquire a majority stake in Nicollin Environnement, a French environmental services company. The move highlights MS’s private-markets and infrastructure investing capabilities beyond traditional banking. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Majority Stake in Nicollin Environnement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage continued to frame Morgan Stanley as a beneficiary of strong banking results heading into Q2 earnings season, with bank earnings generally expected to be solid and supporting sentiment for large financial stocks like MS. Bank Earnings Look Strong Ahead of Q2: ETFs in Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate commentary said Morgan Stanley warned that the AI chip rally may be losing momentum, but this is more a macro/sector view than a direct catalyst for MS shares. Morgan Stanley warns AI chip rally may be running out of steam

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.20.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $222.21. 3,617,619 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,448,374. The stock has a market capitalization of $350.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $135.26 and a 1 year high of $230.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.